roundup

Happy Friday, y’all! This week, I’m elbow deep in Christmas ornaments. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but Jeffrey and I volunteer for a local exotic animal shelter, and I am helping them make these really cool Christmas ornaments for their Etsy shop. Each ornament has a piece of REAL reptile shed inside of acrylic, […]

Every November, I do something super crazy. I join NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. Everyone who participates tries to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November. It works out to a little over 1600 words per day, which is actually fairly manageable when you think about it. The point […]

The best recipes are always the recipes that have been passed down through the generations. They’re the recipes that make an appearance at every family function, the recipes that say “a pinch of this” and “a few cups of that” instead of actual measurements, the recipes that people request when you are attending a potluck. […]

I love October! The weather is starting to back off (finally) from the super hot and humid days we’ve had here in Virginia…. and Halloween has to be the most fun holiday of the year. I love to dress up, even if it is just to hand out candy to the kids. Actually, I like […]

As Jess mentioned in the last Friday Frenzy post, Jeffrey and I were on our honeymoon last week. We actually got married back in June and had the reception in August, but had to wait until October for the honeymoon because of his school schedule. We kept our location a secret from everyone, but the […]

Jess here this week… Usually Allison’s here to start the frenzy, but she’s currently on her honeymoon at a top secret location! She and Jeffrey are trying to unplug as much as possible on their trip. They haven’t even told anyone where they have gone… except me (in case of an emergency) and I’m keeping my lips […]

In just a few weeks, we’ll be celebrating #Choctoberfest – our third annual celebration of chocolate recipes. This year, we have over 70 bloggers signed up to join us! So if you love chocolate… get ready for 200+ recipes you’re going to want to try. Our gold sponsor is Imperial Sugar again this year. For […]

You know it is going to be an interesting phone call when you mom starts with, “I have a story that will beat your racoon story.” This is what she proceeds to tell me… My mom likes to go walking with our neighbor in the morning before work. They are good friends and enjoy getting […]

Whew, has it ever been a busy week! We are gearing up for #Choctoberfest next month, and I have also been helping to organize a Halloween event for the animal shelter where I work. It seems like I blinked and it is Friday again! This week, the animal shelter received a cat bed tower donation […]

The horrible devastation happening in Texas right now has been a reminder to me and Jeffrey… we need to make a bug out bag. I had one when I lived in Alexandria (outside of DC), in case I needed to get out of town quickly. When I moved, it got dismantled, and I just have […]

This summer has been incredible busy. I know I say that every year, but with the wedding and then the reception, plus work and volunteering… crazy. We haven’t even spent any time at the beach, which is ridiculous considering we can literally walk to the end of our street, look right, and see the beach. […]

Right now, I’m in Pennsylvania for a wedding reception. My wedding reception, in fact! Jeffrey and I got married back in June, but because we live so far away from most of our friends and family, we wanted to have a big party that everyone could attend. I’m staying at my parent’s house, and there […]

OMG do I have a story for y’all today! A few nights ago, we were sitting in the living room watching TV, and suddenly I heart this rumbling coming from under the house and suddenly…. A RACCOON POPS OUT OF THE VENT. A raccoon, y’all. In my living room! Jeffrey and I just froze and […]

You guys… I am so tired right now. For the past week, I’ve been running a summer camp for 6-10 year old kids at the animal shelter where I volunteer. Man, kids are exhausting. I’ve literally fallen asleep at like 9 PM every night this week. The best conversation of the week: Camper #1, age […]

It’s #CookoutWeek here at The PinterTest Kitchen! And it’s Friday… so you know what that means… It is also Friday Frenzy, our weekly celebration of delicious recipes and fun craft projects from bloggers around the world. This week, it was my turn to pick the features, and I found some awesome cookout-themed posts for y’all. […]

Choctoberfest 2016 was a huge success! Today, I wanted to share with you all of the delicious recipes our awesome bloggers created for the event! Brownies Caveman Mocha Chocolate Brownies from Moore or Less Cooking Chewy Cocoa Brownies from Restless Chipotle Chocolate Brownie Ghosts from The Freshman Cook Chocolate Cherry Cafe Brownies from Bottom Left […]